Houthi ballistic missile attack kills 53 Yemeni soldiers, wounds 200 in Shabwa

SHABWA — At least 53 Yemeni soldiers were killed and 200 recruits wounded Monday when Iran-backed Houthi militia launched three ballistic missiles at a military training camp in Yemen’s southern Shabwa province, marking one of the deadliest attacks in the latest escalation of the country’s conflict.The missiles struck the Al-Alam military camp in Jardan district, north of the provincial capital Ataq, as newly recruited personnel were preparing for a training session, according to provincial authorities and military officials.The Shabwa provincial government said the death toll was preliminary and could rise, warning that the attack represented a dangerous escalation against government forces.”This bloody, treacherous attack targeted new recruits in the training and preparation phase and is considered an extremely critical military escalation and a blatant aggression on the security and stability of Shabwa province,” the provincial government said in a statement.The recruits were undergoing training to join internal security forces, according to local authorities.A military official said the personnel belonged to a newly established force known as Rapid Intervention, tasked with defending the area. The missiles struck as recruits were lining up in formation for training.The Houthis acknowledged targeting the camp.Rashad Al-Alimi, chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, condemned the attack and pledged a “firm response.”He said the assault reflected the Houthis’ “approach of resorting to cowardly terrorist attacks whenever they face pressures or their Iranian-backed sabotage plots falter.”Shabwa authorities called on Yemen’s president, the government and the coalition to urgently provide air defense and early warning systems to strengthen the province’s defensive capabilities.The provincial government also directed two public hospitals and private medical facilities to treat the wounded and transfer critically injured patients to specialized medical units when necessary.The Al-Alam camp occupies a strategic location along a route connecting Shabwa to the government-controlled province of Marib and important military supply lines.The attack comes amid renewed fighting between the Houthis and forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognized government, following months of escalating tensions linked to the broader conflict involving Iran and the United States.The latest hostilities have shattered the relative calm established under a 2022 ceasefire agreement that had largely halted major fighting in Yemen’s prolonged civil war.